A few weeks ago Verizon sent me two bluetooth tracking accessories called TILE to test out around the house. When I heard that I could attach one to my keys and never lose them again I was hooked. Until that point I literally would spend at least 20 minutes a day looking for them. Which made me start to wonder: how could busy moms use TILE to help reclaim their day and some of their sanity? I got the TILE out and attached it easily to my keychain and then installed the TILE app on phone. In a few clicks the app recognized my TILE and I was good to go. But I realized something cool. Not only could my phone find my keys, my keys could find my phone. TOO COOL. What to do with the other one? Easy. I gave it to my husband who set his up the same way and then we "shared" TILES. Now I could find his keys and vice versa. This was getting fun. So I headed to Verizon and bought a 4 pack for $69.99. I Tiled ALL THE THINGS. My purse, kids keys and so on, my car. What? Your car? I can hear you thinking. Yup. Because if I ever am at the mall and can't find my car (don't laugh, I have a *friend* who does this all the time). I can open the app on my phone and follow the map to my car. Now ...
Nokia 2520: A Back to School Must Have
This past May I spent a few days immersed in tech at the #VZWBUZZ San Francisco event. I received so many new items that I am in love with. But one of those was taken away from me immediately upon unpacking. Connor took one look at my new Nokia 2520 tablet and I haven't seen it since. Well, I do see it but never out of his hands. I see it when he is getting ready for his upcoming college classes by studying chemistry, or when he is watching Netflix, or even when he is blasting Pandora. But have I played with it since those few blissful days in San Fran? Nope. And I am not going to. After a summer of declaring the Nokia 2520 his, he is taking it to college instead of his laptop. So, obviously I had some questions. Can a tablet really perform the duties of a laptop or desktop for a college student? Is it possible that a tablet could actually replace his laptop? Turns out the answer seems to be a resounding YES, YES IT CAN. This little beauty with a 10.1" HD display combined with the Nokia Power Keyboard is ready for work or play. With the simple swipe command feature its extremely easy navigate between apps making an easy switch from Doodle Jump to looking like you are actually ...
Jawbone Up24
A couple of weeks ago Verizon sent me up to San Francisco to meet with other bloggers on the #VZWBuzz team and visit the Verizon Innovation Center. Geeks beware. If you ever want to just truly geek out on the new tech things coming to market you may want to score an invite here. I saw so many cool things being tested, some I can talk about and some I can't. Some are things just in conception and others are full blown and already on the market. One of the biggest areas of tech innovation is in sports and personal health. Some tech I was blown away with are meant for the NFL and a little hush hush so instead I will tell you about the innovations in personal health that are widely available to the market. One of these little goodies is my new constant companion. The Jawbone Up24. While its being marketed as a fitness device I'm actually using it to help me track how I feel and what effects my lupus. Yes, I know the purpose is to get me moving more but right now I am just mining data about my body from it and its been really useful. I wear the Jawbone Up24 24 hours a day and in addition to giving me data about how little I move...which is a scary little amount (averaging around ...
Samsung Note 3: My Personal Assistant & BFF
I have had a lot of phones. I test them for Verizon Wireless as a part of the #VZWBuzz team and love most of them to some degree or another but its rare that I love a phone in its entirety. You might remember I just compared my last three phones and ended up liking the Droid Ultra the best. But now a new heavy weight champ has entered the ring and I love, love, love it- the Samsung Note 3 Phablet. What's a phablet? Its a phone and tablet crossover. I admit it is big. Compared to an iphone it looks ginormous. One of the #VZWBuzz Insiders Tommy did a great video that shows you how the Samsung Note 3 stacks up to the other devices in the market But even with it's bigger than average size I can still easily slip it into the back pocket of my mom jeans (don't judge) without its case. With it's white leather and rose metal look it is simply the most beautiful phone I have owned and to be honest, I often go naked (the phone) with it because I love showing it off. But for those occasions when a case is absolutely required like traveling and going to sporting events or concerts I rely on my handy, sporty Spigen in orange. Here you can see both completely different ...
Samsung Galaxy S4 VS LG G2 VS Droid Ultra. Who Wins?
When switching over from the world of Apple to the Android market you will be faced with dozens of choices. How does a confused shopper know which is the best model for them? They are all shiny and new and completely different from the trusty iPhone. Here is a secret: Android models really aren't that different from one another. At the core they are basically the same phone with tweaks that make one a better fit than the other for individuals. Over the last 6 months I have tested the following three Android phones as part of the #VZWBuzz program with Verizon Wireless: Samsung Galaxy S4, LG G2, and the Droid Ultra. While each phone has it's pro's and con's, read on to find out which one is currently in my purse and why. In the end, it is completely unscientific in finding the "best" Android. The 13 megapixel rear camera on the Galaxy S4 wins hands down for its ease of use for me. While all three of the cameras have similar shooting modes and software (the Droid camera is 10 megapixel), Samsung's layout worked best for my brain. I've come to learn that I can't live with any camera that doesn't have an action shot (burst, drama, etc...-called different things on different ...